verb (used with object),gave[geyv], /geɪv/, giv·en[giv-uhn], /ˈgɪv ən/, giv·ing.
to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow: to give a birthday present to someone.
to hand to someone: Give me that plate, please.
to place in someone's care: If you give me your coat, I'll put it in the closet.
to grant (permission, opportunity, etc.) to someone: Give me a chance.
to impart or communicate: to give advice; to give a cold to someone.
to set forth or show; present; offer: He gave no reason for his lateness.
to pay or transfer possession to another in exchange for something: They gave five dollars for the picture. He gave me the car for $800.
to furnish, provide, or proffer: to give evidence; Let me give you my umbrella before you go out in this rain.
to provide as an entertainment or social function: to give a New Year's Eve party.
to deal or administer: to give a blow to someone; to give medicine to a patient.
to put forth, emit, or utter; issue: to give a cry; to give a command.
to assign or admit as a basis of calculation or reasoning (usually used passively): These facts being given, the argument makes sense.
to produce, yield, or afford: to give good results; 9 × 8 gives 72; The hen gave six eggs a week.
to make, do, or perform: to give a start; to give a lurch.
to perform or present publicly: to give a play; to give a concert.
to cause; be responsible for (usually followed by an infinitive): They gave me to understand that you would be there.
to care about something to the value or extent of (something fanciful): I don't give a hoot about his opinion.
to relinquish or sacrifice: to give one's life for a cause.
to convey or transmit: Give Aunt Betty my love.
to assign or allot: Give every man a full ration of biscuits. They gave him the name of “Joseph.”
to bestow (the object of one's choice) upon, as if by providence: Give me the wide open spaces anytime.
to be connected with, as by a telephone operator: Give me 235-7522.
to present to an audience, as an entertainer, speaker, or act: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the governor of Texas.
to attribute or ascribe: to give the devil his due; After long study the critic gave the unsigned work to a minor impressionist.
to cause or occasion: She gives me a pain in the neck.
to apply fully or freely: He gives his free time to golf.
to award by verdict or after consideration: A decision was given for the defendant.
to inflict as a punishment on another; punish by; impose a sentence of: The judge gave him five years.
to pledge, offer as a pledge, or execute and deliver: He gave her his promise. Can you give bond?
to propose as the subject of a toast (followed by an indirect object): Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our country.
to bear to a man; deliver (followed by an indirect object): She gave him a beautiful baby boy.
to sire upon a woman; father (followed by an indirect object): He gave her two children in the first five years of marriage.
to concede or grant, as a point in an argument.
verb (used without object),gave[geyv], /geɪv/, giv·en[giv-uhn], /ˈgɪv ən/, giv·ing.
to make a gift or gifts; contribute: to give to the United Way.
to yield somewhat, as to influence or force; compromise: We can't negotiate until each side is willing to give on some points.
to yield somewhat when subjected to weight, force, pressure, etc.: A horsehair mattress doesn't give much.
to collapse; break down; fall apart; fail: The antique chair gave when I sat on it.
to be warm and open in relationships with other persons: a withdrawn person who doesn't know how to give.
Informal. to divulge information: Okay now, give! What happened?
to afford a view or passage; face, open, or lead (usually followed by on, onto, etc.): The window gives on the sea. This door gives onto the hallway.
noun
the quality or state of being resilient; springiness.
Verb Phrases
give away,
to give as a present; bestow.
to present (the bride) to the bridegroom in a marriage ceremony.
to expose or betray (a person).
to reveal (a confidence or secret, hidden motives, true feelings, etc.): That remark gave away his real feelings.
give back,to return (something), as to its owner; restore: You haven't given back the books you borrowed from me.
give birth to.birth (def. 10).
give in,
to acknowledge defeat; yield.
to hand in; deliver: Please give in your timecards.
give of,to devote or contribute generously of: to give of oneself; to give of one's abundance.
give off,to put forth; emit: The gardenia gives off a very strong fragrance.
give out,
to send out; emit.
to make public; announce.
to distribute; issue.
to become exhausted.
to become used up; fail: The fuel gave out.
to do or express something, especially unrestrainedly or easily: to give out with a song.
give over,
to put into the care of; transfer: She gave over all her property to her daughter.
to put an end to; stop: They will never give over their impossible dreams.
to indulge in without restraint: She gave herself over to tears.
to devote to a specified activity: The day was given over to relaxing in the sun.
give up,
to abandon hope; despair.
to desist from; renounce: to give up smoking.
to surrender; relinquish.
to devote (oneself) entirely to: She gave herself up to her job and seldom saw her old friends.
South Midland U.S.to consider; deem: She's given up to be the kindest woman around here.
Idioms for give
give and take,
to compromise in order to cooperate: A willingness to give and take is important for success in marriage.
to exchange ideas: an informal meeting in which there would be opportunities to give and take.
give battle. battle1 (def. 10).
give ground, to yield before superior force, as of arms or of reasoning.
give it to, Informal. to reprimand or punish: His father really gave it to him for coming home so late.
give or take, plus or minus a specified amount; more or less: It will cost $20, give or take a dollar or two.
give rise to. rise (def. 55).
give way. way1 (def. 25).
Origin of give
First recorded before 900; Middle English, from Old Norse gefa (compare Danish give ); replacing Middle English yeven, yiven, Old English gefan, giefan; cognate with Dutch geven, German geben, Gothic giban (the pronunciation of the Middle English and Old English forms with initial y- were replaced by Old Norse g- as early as 1200 in parts of the Danelaw)
1. Give,confer,grant,present may mean that something concrete or abstract is bestowed on one person by another. Give is the general word: to give someone a book, permission, etc.Confer usually means to give an honor or a favor; it implies courteous and gracious giving: to confer a degree.Grant is limited to the idea of acceding to a request; it may apply to the bestowal of privileges, or the fulfillment of an expressed wish: to grant a charter, a prayer, permission, etc.Present, a more formal word than give, usually implies a certain ceremony in the giving: to present a citation to a regiment.
gittin, git-up-and-git, Giulini, Giulio Romano, giusto, give, give a bad name to, give a break, give a damn, give a good account of oneself, give a hand
But give the Kingdom credit for its sense of mercy: The lashes will be administered only 50 at a time.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One of the other cops fired three times and those who were still able to give chase did.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Our fans have seen all our sketches, so we wanted to give them something a little deeper about each character.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I had wanted to give him something, something to make him proud.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
J Crew did not give back the money it incidentally made off of Mrs. Obama.
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem|Danielle Belton|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And this is a little thing for Miss Lennox, Kate; you will give her it with my compliments.
Bud|Neil Munro
At six o'clock, he wished to go to the manager and give up the part.
Tales From Bohemia|Robert Neilson Stephens
But its real mother could not accept this decision, and offered rather to give up her child.
History of the Jews, Vol. I (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz
All this will give an idea of the variety of duties of a tea-planter.
Ranching, Sport and Travel|Thomas Carson
He took the place of Jean Valjean, who, on account of his arm being still in a sling, could not give his hand to the bride.
Les Misrables|Victor Hugo
British Dictionary definitions for give
give
/ (ɡɪv) /
verbgives, giving, gave (ɡeɪv) orgiven (ˈɡɪvən) (mainly tr)
(also intr)to present or deliver voluntarily (something that is one's own) to the permanent possession of another or others
(often foll by for)to transfer (something that is one's own, esp money) to the possession of another as part of an exchangeto give fifty pounds for a painting
to place in the temporary possession of anotherI gave him my watch while I went swimming
(when intr, foll by of) to grant, provide, or bestowgive me some advice
to administerto give a reprimand
to award or attributeto give blame, praise, etc
to be a source ofhe gives no trouble
to impart or communicateto give news; give a person a cold
to utter or emitto give a shout
to perform, make, or dothe car gave a jolt and stopped
to sacrifice or devotehe gave his life for his country
to surrenderto give place to others
to concede or yieldI will give you this game
(intr)informalto happenwhat gives?
(often foll by to)to cause; leadshe gave me to believe that she would come
(foll by for)to value (something) atI don't give anything for his promises
to perform or present as an entertainmentto give a play
to propose as a toastI give you the Queen
(intr)to yield or break under force or pressurethis surface will give if you sit on it; his courage will never give
give as good as one getsto respond to verbal or bodily blows to at least an equal extent as those received
give battleto commence fighting
give birth(often foll by to)
to bear (offspring)
to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)
give a person fiveorgive a person some skinslangto greet or congratulate someone by slapping raised hands
give groundto draw back or retreat
give it up for someoneslangto applaud someone
give someone oneBritishslangto have sex with someone
give rise toto be the cause of
give meinformalI prefergive me hot weather any day!
give or takeplus or minusthree thousand people came, give or take a few hundred
give way See way (def. 24)
give a person what forinformalto punish or reprimand a person severely
noun
a tendency to yield under pressure; resiliencethere's bound to be some give in a long plank; there is no give in his moral views
See also give away, give in, give off, give onto, give out, give over, give up
Derived forms of give
givableorgiveable, adjectivegiver, noun
Word Origin for give
Old English giefan; related to Old Norse gefa, Gothic giban, Old High German geban, Swedish giva
What Are The 100 Most Common Words In English?The words we've compiled here probably look familiar: they are the 100 most frequently written words in the English language. As an added bonus, we have some helpful suggestions for more interesting synonyms (or words with similar meanings) that you might want to try instead.